Tag Archives: volunteering

My odd little 2019 calendar

Posted on January 10, 2019 by stillalife

In preparing my last blog post I got carried away doing research on the history of the modern calendar and ignored my original plan to describe the calendar I created for 2019. Today I’m returning to that topic. My calendar … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, personal reflections | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Leaving our comfort zones

Posted on June 30, 2012 by stillalife

“Whatever scares you, do it. Now.” That advice comes from Ken Budd, author of the article, “New Adventures, New Risks, New You,” and of a memoir with an exceedingly long title that begins with The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale… Budd has had … Continue reading →

Posted in health, inspiration, personal reflections, volunteering | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What do I say after “Hello”?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by stillalife

Today, a friend and I began leading an informal English conversation group for parents at a local elementary school.   Most participants spoke Japanese as their first language and most had a similar level of fluency, that is, they could … Continue reading →

Posted in personal reflections, volunteering | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Impress-ive work

Posted on December 14, 2010 by stillalife

“This is good.  I very happy,” announced Quixian, as she held up her first creation and smiled.  It wasn’t our typical ESL class.   It was the last week of school before the holiday break, some students already had left town, … Continue reading →

Posted in seasons, volunteering | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Payback time

Posted on November 18, 2010 by stillalife

“I’ve got a wonderful opportunity for you,” said the overly cheery voice on my answering machine.  I knew what that meant: it’s payback time.  I’m being paid back for all those phone calls I made to volunteers – using a … Continue reading →

Posted in volunteering | Tagged | 2 Comments

You’ve got mail

Posted on November 4, 2010 by stillalife

I had lunch with friends the other day, one of whom confessed that until recently she had 15,000 stored emails on her computer.  They were from her adult children and she had been saving them for years, until finally she … Continue reading →

Posted in friends and family, volunteering | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Carving jack-o-lanterns: an American experience

Posted on October 26, 2010 by stillalife

Instead of studying grammar, today’s English as a Second Language students studied ghosts and gremlins.  Everyone carved a pumpkin and then did a circle-the-word puzzle, in which Halloween-related words were embedded within a chart of seemingly random letters and could … Continue reading →

Posted in volunteering | Tagged | 2 Comments

You have the wrong book

Posted on September 22, 2010 by stillalife

Teaching is one of the hardest jobs there is.  I’ve volunteered in many elementary school classes and what has always impressed me as one of the biggest challenges of teaching — probably because I can’t imagine responding to this challenge … Continue reading →

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